Pouvai

human history

Pouvai. Baton club. Pouvai (baton club) are a type of club which were used by men in times of warfare and combat, they are used during hand to hand or close contact combat. This pouvai is carved from one block of wood, cylindrical and hexagonal in shape with eight flat sides from top to bottom. The handle is undecorated, however, there are four rows of 'afa (sennit) wrapped around the handle. At the base there is a semi circular protrusion with a hole drilled through it and a piece of string threaded through it perhaps for storage purposes. The top of this pouvai is split into three sections, the top section is left undecorated while the bottom two have motifs and other decorations carved onto it.

Accession number: 1929.29 Last Update: 14 Sept 2023
Other Name

Baton club (English)

Place
Samoa/Pacific
Accession Number

1929.29

Accession Date

1929

Other Id

3169 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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